


worth fighting for

by a_gay_poster



Category: Naruto
Genre: M/M, Prompt Fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-15
Updated: 2019-03-15
Packaged: 2019-11-18 15:19:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18122927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_gay_poster/pseuds/a_gay_poster
Summary: Prompt: "could I ask for a short thing where people view gaara as moving ‘down’ for choosing lee over the many other more capable suitors, fighters, ninjas in the two villages?"Gaara makes an important presentation to the Suna Council.





	worth fighting for

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SugarSweetest](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SugarSweetest/gifts).



> Warning in this for some mild homophobia/homophobic language. Nothing too dark, but the Suna Council are a bunch of old farts.

Out in the hallway, Kankuro rubbed Gaara’s shoulders. 

“You got this champ, no sweat.”

Gaara shifted from foot to foot, racked with a nervous energy he hadn’t felt since he was 15 years old, and presenting economic reports to the council with his voice still cracking. He shuffled the notecards in his hands. 

“All right, eye of the tiger, focus,” Kankuro said. 

“Eye of the what now?”

“Don’t worry about it. Now go get ‘em!” With a slap to the back, Kankuro sent Gaara stumbling through the door of the council chambers. 

Eleven wizened and turbaned heads turned to regard him in unison. Gaara set his shoulders and straightened his jacket. 

“Good morning, esteemed council members,” he said. He gripped his notecards so hard he felt the paper crumple. He walked to the empty twelfth seat at the circular table and took it, his back to the statues of the former Kazekage that lined the room. He looked around the table at the elders, each wearing an expression of either skepticism or boredom. The only exception was Juuro, the eldest of the council members, who appeared to be asleep, his long whiskers dangling onto the table. 

He collated the note cards in front of him, clearing his throat. 

“I’ve called this meeting this morning to discuss a proposal that I have developed,” Gaara began. “This is a matter to which I have given much consideration, and which I feel will be in the best interests of Suna and its citizenry. There are of course also the important factors of security and the stability of the village’s leadership moving forward, and I feel that I have weighed these each equally in my deliberations before bringing this proposal before you all today.”

There was a sharp cough to his left and Gaara heard Kiku from the Western Tribes mutter, “Get on with it.”

Gaara looked up at her with his most serpentine glare, the one that usually stilled the shinobi in his ranks into terrified silence. Kiku pulled out a handkerchief from one voluminous sleeve and loudly blew her nose without breaking eye contact. 

“My apologies, Kazekage-sama, I must be experiencing allergies,” she said. 

Gaara fumbled with his note cards.

“As I was saying, I know that there has been much debate over the past year regarding the matter of my selecting a spouse.”

Muttering arose around the table. Gaara raised his eyes and silently waited for the elders to settle before continuing. 

“I am pleased to announce that after a suitable period of courtship, as outlined in Section 5, Paragraph 32 of the Suna Legal Code, to wit: ‘In the unusual circumstances of a Kazekage having ascended to the position in the absence of an existing spouse, the following are required in the selection of a mate: First, the chosen individual shall- “ 

Fuuji of the Southern Flats rapped her fan on the table. Gaara paused. 

“If I may, Kazekage-sama, I believe we are all familiar with the bylaws.” She looked at Gaara over the rim of her glasses. “Please, tell us who it is that you have selected.”

Gaara took a deep and shaky breath. Looking up from his cards, he addressed the table. 

“I submit for your discussion and approval, the individual I am proposing that I be wed to … “

All the council members stilled, waiting with bated breath.

“... Rock Lee, of Konoha.”

The table erupted in a clamor. There were gasps and murmurs. 

“Is this his idea of a joke?” he heard Kiku whispering behind her hand to Akiro of the Sand Boulder. His mouth behind his mask didn’t move but Gaara saw his shoulders shaking with what appeared to be barely contained chuckles. 

Mataru of the Shield Mesa raised his voice.

“What benefit does Suna stand to gain from allying itself with a ninja from a Konoha clan?”

Gaara fidgeted with his notecards, seeking the one where he had addressed just such an eventuality.

“Rock Lee has no clan; he is an orphan. We have attempted diligent genealogical research and have found no evidence that there are any other Lees who remain living in Konoha. Should he ally himself with Suna, he would wholly divest himself of his allegiances to that village.” With the exception of Gai-sensei, and Tenten, and probably any other number of his close friends, Gaara noted internally to himself. 

“No clan?” Masaki the Mountain Shrike tittered, her dark red clan markings wrinkling. “How scandalous. So he’s an unknown quantity. Why, then, should we trust him?”

Gaara flipped to another notecard.

“Rock Lee has proven his diligence and worth as a shinobi time and time again. He served admirably in the Allied Forces during the Fourth Shinobi World War, proving himself to be an ally of peace with a commitment to inter-village cooperation. Despite being unable to use ninjutsu or genjutsu- “

At this, Akiro cracked his knuckles. He had been one of the strongest opponents of the idea of allowing shinobi who could only perform taijutsu to enter the Suna Academy, despite being a taijutsu specialist himself. 

“- he has demonstrated immense abilities in the field of taijutsu, being awarded the rank of jounin by his village. An achievement, I will note, that no Suna shinobi who can only perform taijutsu has equaled to date.”

“That’s right. Isn’t this the same boy who shattered your ultimate defense when you were a genin? As I recall, you tried to kill him.” asked Hosoichi of the Creosote Clan. “How can we be so sure he holds no grudge? I don’t see how his presence here constitutes anything less than a _threat_ to Suna’s safety.”

Gaara turned his notecard over.

“Since that time, I have expended considerable energy on improving my own skills,” Gaara began.

“No doubt he has as well,” Hosoichi interjected.

“He has.” Gaara nodded. “In the event that it should come to a battle between myself and Lee, I anticipate that we would be well-matched. However, barring some sort of extraordinary outside force, I do not see any reason that we should come to that. Those who know Lee know he is not one to hold grudges. He has forgiven me for my past transgressions, just as many of our own villagers have. He intends to fight alongside me, on behalf of Suna. His strength would be an asset to Suna, not a risk.”

“Strong though he may be, as a male, he has no ability to produce you an heir,” wheezed Tamagi of the Lightning Fist. “That is the primary duty of the wife - or, well, spouse - of the Kazekage. Even you must admit this is most irregular.” She extended one wrinkled finger in the air as if raising an insurmountable objection. 

Gaara pulled a card from the back of the stack.

“This is a matter that Lee and I have already deliberated over. In short, as neither of us is capable of bearing children, we intend to adopt. Suna has a number of orphans from the war currently residing in foster homes. We intend to screen eligible children and make a selection as soon as is feasible.” Privately, Lee had raised the idea of adopting a great number of children; seeing the light in his eyes at the idea, Gaara had found it hard to disagree, but that matter would need to wait until the council had adjusted to the new status quo a bit. 

“If I may speak frankly, Kazekage-sama,” Kiku called across the table. In her sixties, she was likely the most progressive member of the Suna council. “If you _insist_ on being a homosexual, couldn’t you have picked someone more … conventionally attractive? There are many handsome shinobi here in Sunagakure, and certainly none of them have quite such … large eyebrows.”

Gaara looked at his notecards. He had not anticipated this line of inquiry. He looked back at Kiku, who was smirking at him. He glanced back down at the cards, then flattened them to the table.

“In my estimation, Rock Lee is an exceptionally handsome man,” he said firmly. “He has passionate eyes and a winning smile. Yes, his eyebrows may be large, but they suit his face well. And he has a fantastic-”

Juuro emitted a loud snore from the other side of the table. Gaara bit his tongue before he could say anything more incriminating. Fuuji raised an eyebrow at him from behind her glasses. 

“Now,” Gaara said, “if there are no further objections-” 

Just then, the door slammed open and a green blur sped into the room, stopping at Gaara’s side.

“Gaara!” Lee cried, then straightened up, looking around. Tamagi coughed into her wrinkled fist and Lee paled. 

“Oh, excuse me very much for the intrusion, honored council members.” Lee bowed deeply. “It is my pleasure to meet you formally. My name is Rock Lee!” He stuck out his thumb in a Nice Guy pose. 

“Lee,” Gaara said in a warning tone. “Why are you here?”

Lee turned to Gaara, momentarily puzzled, and blinked.

“Oh, yes! There was a landslide near the Western wall; the chuunin guard there was concerned it might be destabilized. The guards are shoring it up the best they can right now, but they asked me to come get you-”

“When did this happen?” Gaara interrupted.

“About thirty seconds ago,” Lee said.

“You made it here from the Western wall in less than thirty seconds?” Akiro said in a startled tone.

Lee turned to him in surprise.

“Yes, of course,” he said. “I would have gotten here faster but I didn’t want to damage any roof tiles.”

Akiro leaned back in his chair and nodded, impressed. 

“Lee,” Gaara called his attention back. “We should leave immediately.”

“Shall I carry you?” Lee asked, gesturing to his back. “It would be faster.”

Gaara nodded sedately and stepped forward so that Lee could sling him into a piggyback carry. 

Across the table, Juuro snorted himself awake. 

“We will reconvene this meeting later,” Gaara said to the assembled council over Lee’s shoulder.

As they tore out of the council room, leaving behind a shock wave that rattled the windows and doors, Gaara heard old Juuro’s creaky voice.

“Was that him? I like him.”

“Such destructive force,” Kiku muttered. “It’s for the best if he’s on our side.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much to [DrChickenSlinger](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrChickenSlinger/pseuds/DrChickenSlinger) for the names of many of the Suna council members. I don't know why Suna feels the need to have such an absurdly large council (they have 12, by far the largest of any hidden village), but here we are.


End file.
